Here at The Exchange, we’re massive fans of video games, both old and new – that’s why we’re more than happy to take on your old video games and pass them on to the next fan.
Now it’s the New Year, we’ve been reminiscing over a few of our old favourites, and have made a list of what we think are 5 of the most iconic video game characters.
- Mario
This little Italian plumber has been one of the most recognisable games characters since his first appearance in 1981. The figurehead for Nintendo, Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, even morphed into Mario at the 2016 Olympics closing ceremony, showing just how integrated into our culture Mario is – his design remaining more or less the same (though less pixelated) since the 1980s. Mario has appeared in 200 games, selling 240 million to date. That’s one successful plumber.
2. Lara Croft
There was no way the badass Lara Croft wouldn’t make the list. The intelligent, sexy and highly skilled lead protagonist in the iconic Tomb Raider franchise, she’s gone through numerous redesigns and has even been played by Angelina Jolie in the adapted film Tomb Raider (soon to be recast by Alicia Vikander, which we can’t wait for).
Originally appearing in 1996 for the PlayStation 1 and Sega Saturn, Lara has since appeared in 16 Tomb Raider games, as well as films, comics and even theme park rides.
Her character has gone through more development than most, in both looks and character, but whatever changes she goes through, Lara Croft is an iconic game character that has infiltrated pop culture in a big way.
3. Crash Bandicoot
One of PlayStation’s stars, Crash is the lead character in the Crash Bandicoot franchise – a widely-loved platformer. Crash is the kooky, cool, anthropomorphised bandicoot who you help try to defeat Cortex in his plans for world domination on the Wumpa Islands.
There have been 16 Crash Bandicoot games released so far since 1996, and we hope more to come as it is one of the most iconic, fun and challenging platforms around.
4. Master Chief (Halo)
The lead character in the obscenely popular game franchise Halo, Master Chief was one of the first big characters for Xbox, appearing in the first of the franchise – Halo: Combat Evolved – in 2001.
The mysterious character is a faceless, biochemically and cybernetically enhanced super soldier, who speaks sparingly and whose only purpose is to be a living weapon.
A character of few words with unspeakable skills and a long history of killing, Master Chief has become an iconic and massively recognisable game character, despite being the most recently created on this list.
5. Link
As the lead character in The Legend of Zelda games, despite his name so frequently being confused with Princess Zelda’s (every gamer’s no. 1 pet peeve), this silent (other than the occasional HYAH), brave and endearing character is re-incarnated over and over to save the princess and defeat the evil Ganon.
Link has starred in all 18 Legend of Zelda titles, as well as spin-off games and in graphic novels. Like others on this list, although he has gone through many design changes since his first appearance in 1986, he is still immediately recognisable all over the world for his green tunic, blonde hair, blue eyes and the master sword. Like Mario, Link is one of Nintendo’s other enduring, iconic game characters.
Conclusion
Did your favourite make the list? There are so many to choose from! Let us know in the comments who your favourite iconic game characters are. A few of our honourable mentions are Spyro, Sonic the Hedgehog and Snake from Metal Gear.
Dishonourable mention goes out to Bubsy. You’re the worst, Bubsy.
Stay tuned to find out the Classic Games Consoles that we miss.